Heretofore, it has been well known to provide orthodontic crimpable hooks and stops/spacers which may be adjustably positionable on an archwire or other orthodontic wire for a variety of uses. For example, crimpable ball hooks which are mounted on orthodontic archwires are commonly used for intermaxillary fixation during orthodontic and/or surgical treatment. Another example which is well known is to provide orthodontic crimpable stops that are adjustably positionable on a lip bumper or a face bow wire member. Exemplary of some of these types of mechanisms heretofore known are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,219, which provides a comprehensive background on the use of crimpable ball hooks.
A crimpable ball hook includes a crimpable member or body for receiving an orthodontic archwire and a ball hook extending from the crimpable member, as shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,219. The crimpable member may be closed and slidable over an end of the archwire or open and applied to any part of the archwire. Both types of crimpable members are adjustably positionable along the archwire. Even when these crimpable bodies are crimped, they tend to slide along the archwire when forces are applied to them. This is considered a disadvantage or problem by some orthodontists who would prefer the crimpable ball hook to remain in a fixed location on the archwire at all times. Thus, all known crimpable or collapsible hooks and/or stops suffer from a lack of adequate friction to keep them from sliding along the wire even when they are forcibly crimped onto the wire.